The recent progress in interventional cardiology has largely been driven by the aortic valve, although calcification of the aortic root has proven a difficult hurdle to overcome. A newly published study demonstrates that the Tendyne device by Abbott Vascular Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., can be readily used not just to treat failing mitral valves, but works well in these patients with severe calcification, an achievement that could quickly vault the transcatheter approach past conventional surgical approaches in this population.